2008 Woodie Awards
Expansion of Wilmington Hospital to create 600 jobs
by Jennifer Hayes
Issue date: 11/16/07 Section: News
Christiana Care Health System officials decided on Nov. 5 to expand Wilmington Hospital. The changes will include constructing a 61,000 square-foot medical office building, adding operating room suites, increasing the number of patient beds and doubling the size of the emergency room.
According to a press release from Christiana Care, the $205 million project will begin in spring 2008 and is expected to take approximately five years to complete. The expansion will add 337,000 square feet to the hospital's campus, bringing its total to more than 1 million square feet. An additional 62,000 square feet of existing space will be renovated.
A nine-story tower, including 13 new operating room suites, 30 patient beds and an intensive care unit, will be added to the campus. There will be additional capacity for 90 patient care beds to be added when needed.
Janice Nevin, vice president of Medical Affairs at Wilmington Hospital and a leader of the expansion project, said Christiana Care's board approved the decision to expand the hospital Nov. 5, but the thinking and planning behind it had taken place over the past three years.
"Wilmington Hospital has a rich tradition of providing care, and as we started to look at the campus and started to look at what the future needs of the community would be, it became clear that investing in this campus was the right thing to do for the community," Nevin said.
The need for the expansion was partially based on how busy the hospital currently is and the expectations for future growth as demographics change, she said.
"To some extent, our decision to undertake this project was made because we are very busy at this hospital," Nevin said. "Our beds are almost always full."
The press release stated, "Since 1998, the number of patients using the Christiana Care's Wilmington Campus Emergency Department has increased by 9.5 [percent], outpacing growth in most emergency departments nationally."
According to a press release from Christiana Care, the $205 million project will begin in spring 2008 and is expected to take approximately five years to complete. The expansion will add 337,000 square feet to the hospital's campus, bringing its total to more than 1 million square feet. An additional 62,000 square feet of existing space will be renovated.
A nine-story tower, including 13 new operating room suites, 30 patient beds and an intensive care unit, will be added to the campus. There will be additional capacity for 90 patient care beds to be added when needed.
Janice Nevin, vice president of Medical Affairs at Wilmington Hospital and a leader of the expansion project, said Christiana Care's board approved the decision to expand the hospital Nov. 5, but the thinking and planning behind it had taken place over the past three years.
"Wilmington Hospital has a rich tradition of providing care, and as we started to look at the campus and started to look at what the future needs of the community would be, it became clear that investing in this campus was the right thing to do for the community," Nevin said.
The need for the expansion was partially based on how busy the hospital currently is and the expectations for future growth as demographics change, she said.
"To some extent, our decision to undertake this project was made because we are very busy at this hospital," Nevin said. "Our beds are almost always full."
The press release stated, "Since 1998, the number of patients using the Christiana Care's Wilmington Campus Emergency Department has increased by 9.5 [percent], outpacing growth in most emergency departments nationally."
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